Brits Abroad: Let's Be 'Avin' Ya!

I am not at all British but I believe that it is OK for me to comment so in that case I will. I am an Indian from Delhi but I now live in the US. I first lived in California and stayed there for two years because of my job in IT. At that point in time, my plan was always to return home. But then I was offered a job in Seattle and although I accepted, I thought I would go back to India when my contract finished. That was ten years ago and I am still here! I really don't know what will happen in the future but for now I am very happy to call America home and my life is pretty much here. I have a good career, a fantastic group of friends and most important of all my girlfriend.

I enjoy challenges so shifting to the US was not really a struggle for me. Of course I missed my family and friends and so many other things, but I was still very happy to be here. The culture and way of life was of course very different to what I was used to. But I consider myself to be a very open minded fellow and I'm not afraid of new experiences. Also I have traveled before coming to live in the US, so visiting new places and meeting new people wasn't an issue for me.

I suppose one of the few strange things that I have encountered here is that many Americans know very little about my culture compared to their knowledge of other nationalities here. For example it shocks people that I speak fluent English. But of course I do - English is one of the official languages of India! it was only when I came here that I encountered some expressions I had never heard before which caused confusion which is strange because I would say that in India we follow the American way of speaking English rather than the British way - even though we were once a British colony!

I have taken my girlfriend to India so that she could meet my family, see where I'm from and understand a little more about my way of life. She enjoyed, it was something different for her, but I'm glad she was able to experience this way of life.

I'm glad living in another country has been such a positive experience for you. I have cousins who grew up abroad from the time they were tiny, and I can see that travelling, being exposed to other cultures and languages has been a very valuable experience for them. Children are very resilient and adaptable and seem to take to life in another country - even one where a different language is spoken - effortlessly.

Here comes another 'I used to be a Brit abroad but now I'm not!' My family moved to France when my sister and I were tiny. We grew up in northern France and did our schooling there. And to echo something that La IslaBonita said, it often throws people when I tell people that I grew up in France because they don't detect an accent at all and comment on how very English I sound! Well I did grow up speaking English at home and as we only lived in France, we were able to make frequent enough trips back home to see family. I have cousins who moved out to America with their parents when they were teenagers and although they still consider themselves British, you wouldn't guess that from the way they spoke! I suppose that depends on where you move to and how often you return home.

Because my sister and I were very young we settled into our new way of life with very little difficulty, and picked up the French language very quickly. It was much harder for my parents. Not just the language but understanding the culture, the etiquette, the laws, making new friends and so forth. There was so much to learn. It's so much easier today because you've got things like Google to find out the necessary info. Back then you'd probably contact somewhere like the tourist office or consulate etc. But luckily my parents have a strong sense of adventure (something us kids inherited so nothing really phases us) so they took everything in their stride. Now France is as much home to them as England is.

All of us moved back to England when I was in my early twenties but we go back and forth as often as we can. My sister however made the move back permanently and is now based in Paris. I'm so happy that my parents made the move all those years ago and gave us the childhood that we had. We've had an upbringing that was different to most other English kids, we were introduced to another culture very early on, and we're bilingual, something that has come in very handy in some of the jobs that I've had. I live in the West Country and I'm married now so whether I live in another country again or not will obviously have to be a joint decision but I'm definitely open to the idea.

Remembering the difficulties my parents had, I would tell everyone who wants to emigrate to do their research before they go. My parents went out there on a whim and thankfully it all worked out but for others it can be a very expensive and emotionally exhausting mistake. And also if you're going to live in another country where they speak a different language, it is of course always a good idea to learn the basics before you go.

Everyone with a valid opinion is always eligible to comment, Bailamos. In fact I'd so you were almost an expat so there's no reason why you shouldn't! Haha!

It seems as though you really love it out there so I do hope that you and your kids are able to go back as soon as you can. It's fascinating to hear from someone who's taken to another way of life and culture like a duck to water. I've never been to Brazil but's it's definitely a place I'd like to visit. I worked in a part of London with a large Brazilian community, and I got to know many people through my work as an EFL teacher and I agree - they're lovely! And I think I can agree with you about the slower pace of life because I've never met a stressed or frazzled Brazilian! Haha! I think we can learn a lot from them.

I'm not sure if I'm eligible to comment on this post because I'm definitely not a British expat (I still live in London!) and I'm not sure that I can actually say I 'lived' in another country - it was more like several extended stays in Brazil where I taught English and worked on community projects. I fell in love with Brazil from my first visit. I reckon I must have been a Brazilian in a past life! I loved the country, the people, the culture, the way of life and I speak near perfect Brazilian Portuguese now. A lot of people who probably have never even been to Brazil only think about the poverty and crime rates when you mention Brazil. And while I won't deny there is definitely a problem (we have rising levels of crime and poverty in my neck of the woods btw!) there's so much more to Brazil than people realize. The people are so warm and hospitable, the pace of life is so much slower, people are more relaxed, and everyone is so much more geared towards family life. I'm not particularly religious myself but I do admire the fact that more people choose to practice their faith out there.

To be honest I would actually be living out there if it wasn't for the economic and job situation. There is a reason why so many Brazilians are emigrating which is such a shame because it's a country that's beautiful in so many ways. There's a good chance I may well retire out there when the time comes. I love that I can concentrate on the things that I don't have much time for out here - like my art for example. My ex-partner is Brazilian - he's the reason why I visited Brazil in the first place so I have him to thank for that - and I have two children with him so my ties to Brazil are still there. Unfortunately due to school, Covid etc, I haven't been able to take the kids out to Brazil as often as I'd like to or as often as I did before they came along (I was there A LOT! It was practically my second home and I still think of it that way.) But first opportunity we get, we'll be back out there.

Well I'm also a British person who has been living overseas for many, many years now. I now live in Sydney, Australia and it's nice to see a few Australians on here, and also people just like me - British people who have now moved to Australia. In fact I learned about this site from Donnabella who I went to school with but also lives in Australia.

I moved out here when I was in my early twenties and it's a very long and complicated story about why I moved out here which I won't go into now as it's private. But towards the end my life in England just wasn't good. So when I was given the chance to start a new life somewhere else, I took it and I've never regretted it. In fact between moving out here and now, I did go to mainland Europe and America with the intention of living there but it didn't work out so I headed back to Australia, and now I can honestly say that Australia is home. And more importantly it's my children's home. My oldest child is now a young adult and is the same age I was when I came out here, and this is really the only home he's ever truly known. My youngest is still a toddler and can adapt if I wished to return to England but I know I won't as I think he'll have a better life out here.

That's not to say that I don't miss London or my family and friends but Australia is definitely my home now. I'm also proud of the progress I made because in the beginning it was hard. If you've never lived in another country you won't know how much you have to give up and how hard it is to start again from scratch when you're an adult. It took a long time but I feel very settled in my life right now.

Thanks for this post, Poisson. You're right there do seem to be quite a few of us Brits on here who have now moved to another country. So good thinking in creating this post!

Well I'm a Londoner who's now living in New England and I've been here for over five years now. I won't lie - it's been hard! I was horribly homesick when I first moved out here. We can talk about the similarities between the US and Britain but all I could see were the differences. I hated missing out on the special occasions that were going on back home or not being able to be there for everyone during tough times. Furthermore the kind of work I was doing at home, I was unable to do that here, so I had to do something a little different which wasn't bad but just... different!

It's only now that I'm starting to accept that this is my life now though whether this is my 'forever home' or not - who knows! But I'm definitely getting used to things and the new way of life. And I'm also training for a new career which is exciting. I remind myself that it was my dream since I was eleven to move out here and now here I am! How many people get to live their childhood dreams! So I know I'm one of the lucky ones.

Will we go back to Britain in the future? I honestly don't know. In an idea world, we'd do six months in each place! So I just take each day as it comes and see what happens. But I'm definitely more optimistic and am enjoying things a bit more. It's been a long time coming but I'm getting there. 😀

I have to say I am no longer a 'Brit abroad' but rather a "Brit who used to live abroad.' In many different countries in fact due to my dad's work. I was born in London but left with my family when I was still a small child, first heading to Greece. I've lived in various parts of the world including the Caribbean, Africa and the Far East. I came back to Britain when I got a place at university. And I never left! I now live with my family in Shropshire. I love that I had a very international upbringing but I think that moving around so often is the reason why I now want to stay put in one place, so my sons are having a very different upbringing to what I had. But I hope they think it's a good one. So while I never say never, I can't see me moving anywhere else anytime soon.

It surprises people that I've lived in so many places because they say I sound very English! I have been here a very long time so perhaps that's why. I was born here, I have a British parent and we used to return as often as we could to see family, so when I made the move back to Britain permanently it wasn't a struggle at all. It was just like coming home. Though the one thing that was difficult to adjust to was the weather. I'm used to more a tropical climate and not having to wear so many layers but I think I'm all right with that now. Haha! But give me some sun any day!